DNA: A next-generation material for digital data storage

Work done in the lab of Prof Dipankar Sen at Simon Fraser University

About author

Prince Kumar Lat has a background in engineering and a deep interest in biology. He is a passionate and interdisciplinary researcher. He completed his B.Tech in bioengineering from IIT Kanpur, India and a Ph.D. focussed in biophysics and computational biology from Simon Fraser University, Canada. He has published 6 high-impact research articles spanning the domain of DNA nanotechnology, Cancer genomics, immunology, neurodegenerative disorders, in-silico simulations, and computational biology. He aims to utilize his teamwork, programming and mathematical skills for social good. He has an eagerness to promote science and a quest to improve the quality of human health through his research. When he is away from his lab, he enjoys writing poetry, playing flute and Tabla.

Interview

How would you explain your research outcomes to the non-scientific community?

Storing the tremendous amount of data that we do today was never a possibility in human history. But is that enough? Every year we produce around 33 zeta bytes (33 X 1012 GB) of data and this figure is going to multi-fold in years to come, posing a huge challenge for data storage and retrieval. Merely 60 years of technological advancement has shown a shift from the use of floppy disks (Capacity 2.8 MB) to cloud data storage (Capacity 109 GB) which is huge but still not sufficient to meet the demand for the next generation of data storage. What’s the solution?

“DNA” – a basic biological polymer that every child inherits from their parents -has emerged to be an excellent material for storing data, making logic gates, and nano-electronics. One key challenge in utilizing DNA for these non-conventional use involves developing precise spatial folds of DNA called “DNA origami” and strategies to join different origami using “DNA nanowires”. My research has uncovered a novel strategy to self-assemble long and reversible DNA nanowires using 1000-fold less input DNA concentration than the conventional approach.

How do these findings contribute to your research area?

Until now, DNA nanowire formation was a one-way journey i.e. one could assemble long DNA nanowires but couldn’t disassemble them in a programmed fashion. My research address this major limitation and my engineering allows both the assembly and the disassembly of DNA nanowires using two different regulators (pH and [K+]) which in-turn makes this design well suited for a multitude of application in DNA nanotechnology, conjugation chemistry, biosensor development, logic operations, and mRNA-based drug delivery.

“My research has uncovered a novel strategy to self-assemble long and reversible DNA nanowires using 1000-fold less input DNA concentration than the conventional approach.”

What was the exciting moment during your research?

This was one such project that I independently envisioned during my doctoral research from scratch. Persuading my PI for allowing me to work on this, applying for funds, designing the experiments, and troubleshooting – to list a few – were the topmost barriers. Although there were multiple moments of excitement in my research but to sum them up, I would enlist 3 of them. First, generating high-resolution images of my DNA nanowires using electron microscopy; second, working on a self-designed PhD-level research project & publishing it in an elite chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie; and third, developing a highly unconventional approach for joining blunt-ended DNA. The DNA-DNA recognition and binding are facilitated by the conventional rules of Watson-Crick complementarity and it requires hanging sticky ends on two trailing ends of DNA. This rule underlies the basis of DNA recombinant technology. However, this approach fails to join blunt-ended DNA. To address this, I developed a completely new logic called ‘socket plug’ complementarity which allows reversible joining of blunt-ended DNA.

What do you hope to do next?

I plan to work on enhancing the usability of my research for various applications as mentioned above. I am passionate to link the two major promising areas of research: First, Bioinformatics and Genomics and Second, DNA nanotechnology. I strongly believe the combination of these two fields will bring unprecedented development both in the field of scientific innovation and technological advancement.

Where do you seek scientific inspiration from?

The in-built irresistible attraction to explore something new and innovative drives my passion for scientific research. My teachers, mentors and guides have been the biggest inspiration in my scientific career so far.

How do you intend to help Indian science improve?

One of the key things that I would love to contribute from my end is to promote unconventional and interdisciplinary research. For e.g. DNA nanotechnology is a recent and burgeoning field of research with enormous possibilities. But the current contribution of Indian labs in this field is extremely minuscule in global comparison.

Also, I aim to create more awareness for the importance of scientific research in young students of India so that they make innovative contributions to society.

Reference

Lat PK et al., (2021). A Long and Reversibly Self-Assembling 1-D DNA Nanostructure Built from Triplex and Quadruplex Hybrid Tiles. Angew Chem Int Ed, 60, 16, 8722 – 8727. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.202016668

Copy Editor

Nikita Nimbark

PostGrad in Biotechnology

Nikita Completed her PostGrad in Biotechnology. She has interest in Bioinformatics. Her hobbies include travelling and calligraphy. She is always up for new challenges.

For interview related queries, write to us at interview.biopatrika@gmail.com